Red Hat begins RHEL 5.3 Beta

Linux company Red Hat has announced the beta release of version 5.3 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL) products.

Based on the 2.6.18-120.e15 kernel, the beta version includes server for x86 platforms, 64 bit AMD and Intel, and Systems p and z Itanium Processor for IBM. An update is available, but Red Hat warns this is unreliable regarding system settings, services and custom configurations, and recommends a new installation. Also, attempts to update with separately installed GFS2 kernel modules will result in an error message. The beta test ends in January 2009, when the final release is expected.

Among the improvements are virtualization enhancements with support for up to 126 CPUs in the x86_64 hypervisor and drivers added for use of RHEL as a guest on KVM hypervisors. Cluster improvements include support for GFS2 file systems. Support for Windows Vista and 2008 is provided by Red Hat's rebased Samba 3.0.32.

The release comes with a multitude of new drivers including the updated graphic drivers r400 and r500. The Enterprise Desktop also tests Network Manager 0.7. A detailed description of version 5.3, with instructions on installation and further innovations, can be seen on the release notes web page.